Dan,
Thanks for uploading the paper, very helpful. Guess no one rig can please everyone, but what is it about the FT-530 that makes it "very awkward to operate"? Drew KO4MA gave the FT-530 high praise in his post.
I could never hear my downlink on the IC-W32A I borrowed for Swan Island, and if you can't use it to work full duplex, might as well buy a brand new FT-60 for about the same price as the W32A sells for on eBay. Also, you can't work the ISS with an unmodified W32A, as it won't transmit below 440 mhz.
I know it's possible to hear your downlink on the FM birds with some rigs, because many have written about it. I've had no luck with 3 different rigs, even with separate radios and separate antennas. No problem for me to work duplex on AO-7 and VO-52, must be the third harmonic that is the issue with AO-51, AO-27, and SO-50.
A lot of folks seem to like the Kenwood TH-D7A, but the price tag is quite high for a radio that is "very delicate," "extremely difficult to program," and "poor battery life".
73, Bill NZ5N
Posted by: "Dan O'Barr" kl7dr@yahoo.com kl7dr
Thu Apr 3, 2008 9:13 pm (PDT) I uplaoded my white paper on the best Walkie-Talkies to operate the LEO Amateur satellites.
You can access this file at the URL:
http://groups. yahoo.com/ group/fm-satellite/files/Best%20Walkie-Talkies.doc
73, Dan O, KL7DR
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